I’ve been having problems with Windows 10 for almost a month now. And the problems keep getting worse.

It started with the Nov upgrade that was forced upon us, which I delayed for some time, and since then I haven’t had a stable system. Just to make sure it wasn’t a hardware problem, I’ve run every test I can think of to check stability. I’m not overclocked, the memory checks to be good (both the Windows built in memory test and Memtest 86+ run overnight). The SSD checks out and I have no SMART flags showing up on any of the hard drives either. Maybe a psu issue, but I don’t think so. Temps are normal.

Going back to an image made in October eliminates the issues so far, but the damn thing is going to “upgrade” itself eventually. I’m seriously thinking of going back to my last image of Windows 8.1.

Re-installing from a newly downloaded ISO from Microsoft also gives the same message from the scannow command. Yes, a completely fresh install says that it is corrupted. Updating from the ISO gives me a system that freezes constantly. Even Task Manager freezes and I am forced to reboot.

I don’t want to have to monitor updates constantly, so the best choice seems to be going back to 8.1 or 7. Unlike most, I rather liked 8.1 and never had issues with it.

I used the Microsoft Media Creation Tool. I don’t believe the ISO was corrupted upon download. I’m trying it again, but I don’t think this will solve anything.

The October image is running flawlessly so far. No BSOD’s, no freezing. I’ve been trying to see if I’ve installed anything since then that might have a deleterious effect, but haven’t seen anything obvious other than the updates from Microsoft.

The 8.1 image will reinstall without issues. It is already activated, so that is not a barrier to using it. Also, I don’t think the old keys get blacklisted. My copy came from a Windows 8 upgrade, (I did a clean install with it, following a few instructions on the net), and then the key changed when it was upgraded to 8.1. I can install the original Windows 8 in another machine I believe, though MS might not agree with that interpretation.

And I see Dee has answered while I was typing. I can adjust voltages easily enough but my system has been stable in the past before the updates. Stable enough to do video encodes overnight or do Prime95 overnight also. There is something with the updates that is screwing with my system.

I’ve tried updating drivers where it was possible, but this had no effect.

Also, freezing issues are not uncommon with Windows 10. I’ve been doing some searching on the subject.

You have my sympathy Kerry, it’s damn infuriating. I’ve noticed that some rigs (including laptops) of all ages don’t like windows 10. (like the post about Jim’s lappie) Some wont even load it, some BSOD all the time, some work OK at least for a while. It seems every time an update Tuesday is installed more hassle seems to appear.

I have two main rigs, this one that has 7 on it and works perfectly whatever I throw at it and another with 10 on it and that one is a pain in the butt! Both rigs use Sandybridge i5 (this one) or i7 K processors and have the best memory and mobo’s money could buy at the time. The i7 rig is the one with 10 on it, a clean install and it likes to screw it’s self whenever it feels like it. It was perfect with 7, so what gives?

Neither machine is overclocked. The 10 machine is set to only install critical updates. All other updates I do myself via the manufacturers websites (or Nvidia)
I wonder how many computers there are that have been bricked by 10. This is some serious fiasco.

Windows update doesn’t load any drivers. If it ever does, I would remove them and use the up to date drivers that are supplied by the manufacturers.
All this points to a conflict with the updates and the hardware. Dee has a new rig with up to date components, she has no problems with 10. A huge amount of people don’t have the latest, or near latest hardware and are having hassles. Strange though it may seem, I was talking to Jim this morning and he gave up with his older lappie and spent nearly Â£2000 on a new laptop with windows 10 and it went BSOD within an hour. He now owns a Macbook, it cost a bit more, he’s more than happy as it does exactly what he wants. email and web browsing and can connect to work without interruptions.

Microsoft are impossible to contact as far as I know, the only way is through Facebook it seems and I don’t subscribe to that. Has anyone else tried Facebook and what kind of answer did you get?

I’m not sure this is an entirely bad thing, since the Oct. image that works without problems also has this reported by scannow. It just doesn’t have all the same updates.

Will test this to see how stable it remains under normal use, but if it starts exhibiting the same symptoms as before, its the last straw, and I’ll be going back to 8.1.[/QUOTE]

I.ll try to assist you if you like to proceed finding the culprit and not give up…

First of all, I understand that you did not have any flaws once Windows was installed and so the trouble is caused by one of the updates from Windows update.
I will in this case advice yet again that if you choose to start over… Download the updates from Windows update using Portable updater http://www.portableupdate.com/ - That should make you able to install one update at a time and thereby find the culprit causing your trouble. I personally think this may be the shortest route to a solution.
Voxsmart is correct in that choosing the manufacturer’s drivers instead of MS provided ones may bring stability back, but for the record I have come across situations where the MS provided driver was the one making the system stable. In your case however, if this is the case, a MS provided driver may be the culprit.

If you rather not start over, there are a few pieces of information I would like you to provide.

I presume you have updated BIOS and checked compatibility with the hardware manufacturers (motherboard, add-on cards and so on).

Can you inform me of the 0x??? error code and error description on the BSOD

Are there any errors found in ‘Device manager’(devmgmt.msc)?

What errors do you have in ‘Event viewer’ (eventvwr.msc).?
(right-click start and choose run from the context menu, then paste one of the filenames above)

If any errors in Event Viewer seem to multiply or otherwise be constant, I would very much like you to grab the following:

Just the description as shown

Snap the contents of the XML view.

With this information, I probably can figure out where it hurts and advice you further.

I ran Prime95 overnight. No problems, so I don’t believe there is any inherent instability in the hardware.

Bios of the motherboard has been updated to the latest version.

There are no add-in cards on the motherboard, not even a video card. Neither do I have any external devices, like an external hdd, though I do have one hub and the keyboard and mouse of course.

Since installing the ISO and the updates there have been no BSOD’s nor any signs of freezing, but I’m still testing and that will take days. There have been no critical errors, though lots of other types. If I get something that looks like it is the primary culprit, I’ll post it.

Insider builds apparently have solved the problem, but those haven’t gone out to the general public yet.

I’ve followed instructions from the Windows 10 forum thread, and done a successful DISM cleanup using yet another ISO, this time from TechBench. Sfc.exe/scannow reports no errors. So maybe I’ve got it under control.

One final note from me. Microsoft is quickly earning a reputation for cluster****s with their update/upgrade schedule in Windows 10. [I]Each time[/I] something breaks for someone, and its becoming Russian Roulette with your operating system.

If they don’t get this under control quickly, Windows 10 is going to be a slowly sinking ship, with everyone looking for a way off. Only the Enterprise edition might succeed, and only because the IT admins have control over what is updated with it.

[QUOTE=voxsmart;2767874]Hey Guys, can we not get Windows 10 Enterprise via MyCE as a group? I know very little about how Enterprise versions work. Just a thought. Does anyone else have any ideas on the subject.[/QUOTE]

To qualify for a MS Enterprise license [U]your company[/U] must have 500+ employees - rules changed just recently

By Richard Smith General Manager, Microsoft World Wide Licensing & Pricing (WWLP) Today, we’re announcing another significant step in the transformation of Microsoft volume licensing to make it easier for customers and partners to do business with...